A Dance of Leaves
by Kamitra
Summary: Extremely slow updates. [AU, NaruSasuko] In a world where women are superior to men, Sasuke's earliest memories are of the long shadow of her brother... and now, she must find her own way.
1. Bloodline Limits

Author's Notes: And here is where I test the limits of fandom. regretting this already, but really wants to do this

Just take this as AU. Based on the "Stormy" plotline, which I deleted off of my Memoirs collection (as it wasn't that memorable anyway). If you didn't get to read it earlier, don't worry. Just be prepared to be _really_ confused. (I won't be able to explain anything for a while.) And this is supposed to be a romance, but I don't know if I'll get that far.

The first chapter is very lecture-like. Oh, and for plotline, I'll have to cite _Exiles_ by Melanie Rawn (yes, that's why Sasuke is female...), because I'm sucking up a lot of the political and social workings here, although the politics will be more Naruto-ish.

-

**A Dance Of Leaves **

(I can't think of a better title yet.)

**Chapter 1: The Prologue**

A Lecture on Bloodline History (an exerpt)

(status: hidden somewhere within the Hokage's Tower)

Once upon a time, Konoha was founded upon the ideal of peace and prosperity, during a time of great war in a land of refugees. The laws were few and peace was kept under the graceful hand of the authorities. The authorites were people selected from various families, or people that were trusted to have authority. Even to this day, it is the way of the Leaf to instill a deep sense of responsibility in the power of authority among of various ranks of ninja within the village. This differs from other places in which authority comes from purely heritage or power. In the Leaf, power and heritage is not everything, and yet it could be said that it is, even more so than that of other countries.

Like many of the bloodlines that were undergoing many changes during this time, those with a bloodline limit were sought out in the Leaf village. The difference, however, is that they were granted a degree of autonomy rather than controlled by the government. Eventually, this autonomy created the kind of inner society found within the clans today as they grew in size, sometimes geometrically. With size, however, the face of many of these clans began to change.

Most obvious is the change that developed within the Hyuuga clan. When Konoha was founded, they were already in the process of separating the Uchihas from the main and branch families, but as time passed, the Uchihas quickly developed into a self-supporting family, while the Hyuugas closed themselves to the rest of the world, protecting their status as the most premire clan within the hidden village...

-

Notes on the Uchiha Family

(status: lost sometime during the Second Ninja War, no copies remain)

It's interesting to note that nowhere in the lineage of the Uchihas, and indeed the Hyuugas as well, does it say that they were ever interested in conquest or warfare. In fact, the entire basis of the Gentle Fist appears to be a form of acupuncture and medicine that is no longer found anywhere in the Five Countries. While it can be incredibly deadly (indeed, deeply recognized as so now), there are many incongruous features that seem to point out how their fighting style seems to lend itself more to the theory of self-defense rather than hand-to-hand combat. In the case of the Uchihas, however, the story seems to be more complex.

What originally started the bloodline of the Uchihas is hard to imagine, but perhaps it might be easiest to surmise that the entire founding of the clan was based on one mistake after another. I say mistake because these features seem to follow the evolution found in the way that one user of the Gentle Fist known today has seemingly "developed" the technique used to permanently end the career of one promising ninja of the Hidden Grass in the last Chuunin Exam. Taking that "accident" as an effect, the Gentle Fist also may have been used to experiment on improving various bloodlines, perhaps to better protect the interests of the government that came before the Five Powers. The Uchihas, as it is known and documented, were one of the successful clans born from a type experimentation. (Several others were eventually moved to other countries, as the communications between the lands were more common during that time.)

While the Hyuuga family all seems to share the combined traits of gentleness and distance, the Uchiha family seems to combine the traits of brotherhood (or friendship, for lack of a better term) and singlemindedness. Indeed, while it could be said that the Hyuugas' true strength comes from grace, the Uchihas have long since discovered that their true strength came from faith. However, for some unknown reason, they, in the country of Fire, they became uncontrollable weapons when these bonds of destiny were broken. The first sign of this was eventually called the Mangekyou. This technique doesn't seem to be a creation of the administration of the Leaf, but by the will of the Uchihas themselves.

The Sharingan, which allows the bearer to see through any jutsu to the point that they can copy any technique, was perhaps a morphing of the medicinal quality of the Byakugan into something that allowed the transfer of details (something inherently difficult with the Byakugan but natural with the Sharingan) to be processed and examined in the mind. In many ways, it allowed the members of the Uchiha family to get to know the people that they worked with incredibly quickly and be able to tell who they would have been able to trust.

At first the Uchiha were used for interrogation, as a way to avoid senseless bloodshed and violence. (And if one is to be morbid, it really made less work for everyone.) Indeed, the Tsukiyomi, which comes from the hypnotic effect of the Sharingan, which was originally developed for interrogation, which gradually became something more and more brutal as time passed. However, now, the Uchiha are invaluable for secret missions in which double agents are commonplace. It is certain that they do not know who is on what side or what their motives are, but they do know who to trust...

-

Specifics of the Uchiha Bloodline (an exerpt)

(status: hidden somwhere in the Uchiha District, not completely ledgible)

...The Sharingan is apparently most easily developed under the lineage of the one, male or female, who develops the highest level of the Sharingan. It is unknown what activates the bloodline limit, but it is not always under violent circumstances. It is because it is uncertain that the main branch of the family is decided by bloodline and strength of the users within it.

It is known, however, that the Mangekyou, the highest form of the (Sharingan?), can only be manifested upon the murder of one's closest friend. (Normally) the result would be insanity and self-destruction for the user, but this can be prevented with the creation of another bond, such as marriage or child(birth).

The Sharingan has several abilities related to it. Besides the usual effects of hypnosis and genjutsu cancellation, there are also the Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu. The (Tsukiyomi) creates an unbreak(able) illusion that can cause any sensation to the receiever. The Amaterasu can pierce through any barrier as well as create any for limited time. Both abilities can only be used by one that has the Mangekyou.

The Mangekyou also ensures that the decendants of such...

-

Much of the information found in the "Specifics of the Uchiha Bloodline" turned out to be false, as Sasuke would find out the hard way.


	2. Family Circumstances

Notes: I've decided that the only way I'm going to be able to write this is as a bunch of drabbles that eventually will weave together. If they sound unrelated, they're supposed to. I'm not a master at writing at all, but this is an attempt at a style that may actually work for me and my limited attention span.

For some coherency, I'll try to keep each chapter set to a theme, which is the chapter's title.

Oh, and I'm not bothering to quote the manga. I'm ad-libbing by this point, since I get to claim the AU disclaimer, heh heh. Also, I write incredibly sporadically. Please do not ask me to rush this, because I just suck that much. As for the timeline, I think it will take a while to get to the point that original ficlets were under... but I'm probably not going to go in any chronological order either.

-

**Chapter 2: Dreams of Family**

A Memory: Trust  


(state: long, long forgotten)

"Niisan, will I'll get to be as powerful as you one day?"

Itachi turned around to look at the child toddling after him. It was true that he himself was still a child, but his little sister was truly a child, in skills and thoughts. However, unlike a normal child, her head was not filled with candy, games, or friends, but of training and techniques.

Itachi knew better than to shake his head at that -- Sasuke would think that would be the answer to her question. So he thought about the question seriously.

Sasuke was not his full sibiling, so she did not have the same lineage that Itachi had, which practically ensured that he gained the Sharingan at an early age. Later, Itachi would doubt if this was really due to bloodline, but for now, he merely understood that the Sharingan did not match up to what he was told.

He looked at his sister, who both eagerly and apprehensively stared back up at him. Since he didn't know what caused someone to be strong or someone else to be stronger among the Uchiha family (there seemed to be no obvious pattern that he could yet observe), Sasuke could very well have what it takes to be one of the few that unlocked the highest level without the bloodline.

"...It is possible, if you work hard at it."

Sasuke would believe this for the rest of her life.

-

A Conversation: Worry  


(state: explained by Kakashi later)

"Sakura-chan, aren't your parents really rich?"

"They aren't rich, Naruto. We're just well-off."

Naruto just blinked incomprehendingly at her. Sakura sighed and rephrased her answer. "We're not really rich, just nowhere near poor," she explained.

Naruto pondered on this a bit. "Hmm... I think I get it." He opened his eyes. "So if you're 'well-off', how come you're a ninja?"

"Well... that is... well, Sasuke-kun is well-off too, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but your parents are civillians... aren't they worried? I would be worried for you -- being a ninja is really dangerous and stuff, and everyone dies one day..."

Sakura changed the conversation at that. Sasuke pretended that she didn't hear, while Naruto lost his train of thought.

-

A Tsukiyomi Dream: Conflict  


(state: doubted)

"Nothing will ever change the fact that we're siblings, no matter how much you may hate me later."

"Why would I want to deny it?" A young Sasuke asks Itachi. She looks really cute, cuter than Naruto remembered her being. It was probably because he was older or something. All he could remember was the little girl being an ass to him, not what she looked like.

Itachi smiles enigmatically -- Naruto can't imagine how he could smile like that. The only time Naruto saw him, he looked way too creepy to ever smile like that.

"Jealousy, perhaps."

Jealousy? Like when he fought Sasuke for the first time, because he had learned the rasengan? Or... because Itachi wanted him? Or because he had no family to begin with? Or maybe it was because he had a choice... sort of.

"You never even had a family!" Sasuke cries out, eyes wild.

"Niisan... Itachi... killed everyone... just to test himself?"

Mikoto turns around from her cleaning. "I'm sure Itachi has dreams too, although I don't know what they are. I'm sure both of you can make your dreams come true, whatever they may be."

Sasuke looks up from his (her) seated position on the steps. "I don't have a dream so much as an ambition."

Itachi glares at the police in pure anger. "You idiots that cower behind the image of the clan... you do not know what true power is."

Itachi turns to Sasuke. "Foolish little brother."

Sasuke appears almost out of nowhere, in front of Naruto. "ITACHII! I've come to kill you!"

Neji smiles back up at him. "I'm sure you can bring Sasuke out of the darkness, like you did for me."

Naruto screams also now, whether from the barrage of images or the effort of trying to stop him, he's not sure. "SASUKEEEE!!! STOP RUNNING, DAMMIT!!"

But it is no use. Itachi looks down at Naruto, who collapses down on the ground.

"You have grown, Naruto-kun. But it is still not enough."

-

Another Memory: Lies  


(state: under debate)

Sasuke stared at his own reflection, unable to believe his eyes, so to speak.

Staring back at him was the Mangekyou Sharingan. The exact thing that he had left Konoha and failed to obtain two years ago. Why did he get it back now? Naruto was still alive, as was the rest of Kakashi's team.

"Is there something the matter, Sasuke-kun?"

"No."

Quickly, Sasuke attempted to dispel the Mangekyou. No such luck. So he simply altered his henge to include his eyes. After all, with Kabuto around all the time, one couldn't be too careful. Sasuke had no idea what Kabuto did or didn't know about him, but it was best not to test it out.

He could only wonder if Itachi had known this would happen.

-

Yet Another Memory: Peace  


(state: remembered by all parties, unfortunately)

By now it had been several months since Team 7 had been back, but Sai, Sakura, and Naruto were STILL Team Kakashi, while Sasuke was merely on parole (for now). Still, they were all together... which was not necessarily a good thing. Sai still hadn't learned how to not provoke people, and although Sasuke had learned great patience for that sort of thing during his time in Sound... well, one could say that Sai was a genius at insulting words.

"You know, Sasuke-kun... I had been wondering what you look like ever since I received my mission... and I have to say, you look more manly than Naruto does. You at least have a dick. Why do you keep that henge, anyway?"

"...It's more comfortable." The words were almost forced out, but Sai continued out, oblivious.

"Well, I suppose if you look like a guy even as a girl, it's a deifnite improvement to your looks. I didn't think anyone could look worse than that bitch, though." He must have meant Sakura, who blatantly ignored him. Both Naruto and Sakura were used to Sai by now.

"At least," he continued, oblivious, "You look more like a girl as a guy now, than in your ID photo. Is it because all the strongest Uchihas are male?"

That was enough. Sasuke stood up, and Naruto stood up with him.

"H-hey, don't kill him!"

"Don't worry; I'm just going to shut him up. Permanently."

"Did I hit a sore spot?"

By now Sakura was far more used to damage control than she ever wanted to be. She just sighed and tripped Naruto (who ran into Sasuke) and used the same momentum to clock Sai in the back of the head, wishing she were back in the hospital (she never thought she'd hear herself think _that_). If she ignored Naruto's sputtering, all was peace and quiet.

Still, Sakura had to commend Sasuke for his patience. No average lady would stand for such insults. Sakura sighed to herself -- Sasuke-kun never lost his touch as the coolest ninja in the Five Countries.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura's faraway look, while Naruto muttered to himself about the unfairness of it all.


	3. The Hyuugas

Notes: Now with structure! (I now have notes as to what to write about for each chapter. Incredible.) Oh, and about pairings... if you have any OTPs besides NaruSasu, I'd like to suggest you leave them at the door. Because I'm likely to not know what they're going to be until they happen myself... or I'm just not saying.

I don't think it needs to be said that I'm filling in anything that I don't know. It doesn't mean that I subscribe to my own theories, but I need _something_ to work with for the story. It also doesn't need to be said that I'm sure to be pulling spoilers here and there, but since I'm making up a lot of things as well, it's probably even more unnecessary. I'm still on vol. 34 of the manga, so I haven't seen the more recent stuff yet. But it's AU anyway.

About the phrase in Hanabi's part -- Baji toufuu, I believe (馬耳東風). Something I learned from an acrostic.

Yes, the style is, and will always be, inconsistent. Even though I'm trying.

(edit: Fixed Hanabi's age.)

-

**Chapter 3: Different Destinies**

Neji (at fifteen years old): Destiny

Despite the fact that it looked like it could have been otherwise, fatalism was a personal trait limited to Hyuuga Neji himself. In a way, it was his method to cope with things that he could not fully comprehend: Many things in his life had no answers, only more questions. In the end, it was either keep his mind filled with these questions or ignore them and focus more on important things, such as his missions and training.

So he took the easy way out, although he was not happy with it.

Questions still haunted him; such as why his father had to die while Hinata lived (Surely his father had more worth than a useless dropout of an heir, or was the main family really that much more blessed? Or maybe it was simply 'first come first served,' literally), or why Naruto had made it to the final section of the Chuunin Exam (Or would this be another lesson in cruel fate? To come so far only to fail). These were answered with fatalism, however wrong those answers would prove to be.

However, in the face of the proof named Naruto, rather than doing away with fatalism as many people would prefer, Neji simply embraced the new perspective brought to him on the subject and revised his views. As a result, he was still fatalistic, but not regressively so. Instead, fate was now a thing of interaction between people's effort to change what they perceived to be their reality, and the results of such. People had the free will to prove their hopes and dreams as fate, or take it for granted and suffer the consequences, like he did.

In a way, everyone does both. Everyone except Naruto, that is. And Naruto was truly the only person he had seen that consistently exercised the first and inspired others to do the same.

Certainly Neji felt inspired, and he silently vowed not to lose that inspiration.

-

Hanabi (at eleven years old): Freedom

More the rest of the Hyuuga family members, Hanabi lacked freedom. However, she did not mind this so much -- these constraints were not unpleasing. Besides, far from the uncertainties of the future that had plagued her older sister and cousin, Hanabi's troubles would be of a much different sort.

She did not dislike her betrothed, after all. He was of the lively sort, full of promises and energy. He the son of a noble, but he claimed that his goal was to become a ninja. His family tried to discourage him, but he would not hear of it.

"It is very hard and very dangerous to become a ninja," she warned him herself, having seen her own sister in the hospital several times, but it was like the east wind in a horse's ear. Strangely enough it was her older cousin that was the only one that approved of his conviction.

"I have to be able to protect my future wife somehow -- it's my duty as a husband!" he declared one day, smiling in the sandbox of the playground nearby the Hyuuga grounds. As he was two years younger than Hanabi (a most appropriate age, her father had said), he was still allowed to play around, while she stood on the outside, like an adult.

She was almost a genin, after all.

She would have her own protecting to do all too soon.

-

Hinata (at sixteen years old): Change

Despite the fact that she was not as observant as her older cousin was, she still was asked quite often if she knew about the changes in Naruto. And she did, but not because she was observant, but because she watched him so closely. She was not always there to see everything, but she saw him often enough to know that there once was a time where he did not get any attention from girls, and also a time when he didn't realize it if he did.

Now it didn't seem like he didn't notice it, but more that he didn't give it much thought. Still as Naruto as ever, his focus was purely on his friends and becoming the next Hokage. However, by distinction, there was one friend in particular that he was particularly concerned with. Hinata wasn't sure if it was natural that Naruto pay more attention to this friend than the others due to their closeness, or if it was some sort of exclusive bond that she couldn't determine.

Until Sai asked her (of all people) an unexpected question.

"What does he see in her, anyway?"

That wasn't exactly what he said, since Sai still hadn't learned how to not insult people, but that was the basic message of it. Even after figuring out that he meant it in a general sense and not a romantic one, she couldn't help but worry whether or not Naruto did favor her over other girls in that way.

She had asked Neji his opinion after about five false starts and a bit of prompting. He wasn't particularly close to Naruto (due to how infrequently their paths intersected, Neji had told her), but he had an uncanny ability to predict the future. She had always been discouraged by his words because of this, before Naruto. Always before Naruto. Her life had seemed so bleak, but now, even though nothing had changed about life itself, she had still managed to change it for the better, thanks to Naruto. For that (and much more), she was grateful.

"The one he will be destined to be with is whoseever heart he wins," Neji said after a bit of apparent reflection.

"Wouldn't it be the other way around, Neji-niisan?"

Neji smiled to himself. "Not with Naruto, no. Not even if he's the one being fought over."

Then he had turned to her, still with that gentle smile. "Do not fret, Hinata-sama. If he chooses you, you and everyone else will know it. If not, then he does not. Show your feelings to him without fear. He will accept them. That is his way."

Hinata tried her best to keep this in mind. If this was just a possible future that Neji predicted, then she thought that it wouldn't be a bad one to try to make a reality.


End file.
